Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) registered the company as per given norms under the name Varanasi Smart City Limited.

The office for the company has been set up at the head office of the VMC in Sigra. The city municipal commissioner, Shrihari Pratap Shahi, will be the chief executing officer (CEO) of the company, while the divisional commissioner Nitin Ramesh Gokarn will be the chairperson.

Varanasi made the cut after it was selected along with other 26 cities in the third list under the government's flagship Smart City Mission announced by urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu on September 20. As per the norms laid down by the Union ministry of urban development, the implementation of the Smart City Mission at the city level will be done by an SPV that will plan, apprise, approve and sanction projects and will execute the Smart City proposals, besides mobilizing the sources.

Municipal commissioner, SP Shahi, said that the online application for registration of SPV was carried out on October 23. The SPV would consist of 10 board members and the process of registering the members of the board is on. The prominent officials or representatives of Jal Nigam, Varanasi Development Authority, department of power, PWD, tourism and VMC, Jal Kal, among other departments would be part of the board, he said.

Following the registration of members, the company will hold a meeting to decide on the appointment of engineers, employees, experts and committees and organizational chart. The first meeting is expected to be held soon, he added.After the registration process is completed, the state and urban local bodies would release Rs 200 crore for the project of which Rs. 194 would be released by the Central Government.